Re: Deb Re: : What does hurt look like?

[Guest guest]

helen_foisy wrote:

> Hi Deb, It's my belief that unless they are deeply into the spectrum

> and there are other factors such as low intelligence AS aren't

> predisposed (in a genetic sense) to naivety any more than non

> spectrum folks are.

Helen -- no argument here; total agreement.

> There are some factors, such as sensory issues,

> that can make an AS child seek out solitude. Some non spectrum folks

> have sensory issues too, though generally we have the market cornered

> on that one LOL.

>

> But my thought is that it's everything that happens *after* the Aspie

> born that can make AS more AS.

A few years a legitimate (if rather over the top) sociological study

implicated too much TV watching by children, *and the factors that led

to it*, as one possible cause for rising rates of autism in some parts

of the US. It was widely hooted at the time, but even then I wondered

if maybe...

> I feel sorry for today's children. Municipal governments and school

> boards are ripping out public playgrounds because of lawsuits and

> children aren't allowed to play in some public parks unless it's an

> organized event because of lawsuits, not to mention all the creeps

> you have to be scared about. With smaller families you don't have the

> protection of siblings and peers siblings, so parents have to drive

> their kids everywhere. Kids aren't interacting with peers before and

> after school in a natural self selected environment, or engaging in

> spontaneous play. It's too dangerous now. So sad. So now, all their

> activities, and thus, their peers, are chosen for them. On top of

> 's most recent commentary of the social effects of the eroding

> economy, all these factors combined are enough to make an entire

> generation of kids more socially challenged, not just AS. - Helen

I'm with you, Helen - sorry for today's children. *really* sorry!

For a longish time I've felt a significant part of the " rising AS

incidence " isn't a rising *incidence* or prevalence at all.

Rather it may be " all the above " stressing the (always present but

un-noticed) AS children and (predictably?) *revealing* traits which - in

a kinder, gentler world - might be ignored.

I've made that case already in regards to my own childhood which

*was* in a smaller, calmer, more protective world. Many times I've

wondered how I would have coped - what I'd have grown to be - had I been

born 10, 20, or even 30 years ago instead of 80.

- Bill, AS, ...opinionated (back then it was naiveté or even naïveté)

--

WD " Bill " Loughman - Berkeley, California USA

http://home.earthlink.net/~wdloughman/wdl.htm

[Guest guest]

Re: Deb Re: : What does "hurt" look like?

For a longish time I've felt a significant part of the "rising AS incidence" isn't a rising *incidence* or prevalence at all.Rather it may be "all the above" stressing the (always present but un-noticed) AS children and (predictably?) *revealing* traits which - in a kinder, gentler world - might be ignored.I've made that case already in regards to my own childhood which *was* in a smaller, calmer, more protective world. Many times I've wondered how I would have coped - what I'd have grown to be - had I been born 10, 20, or even 30 years ago instead of 80.- Bill, AS, ...opinionated (back then it was naiveté or even naïveté) ;)I've long thought this myself. I have also wondered if the more high speed life gets, the more loud the decibels get, the more technology in multiple areas takes over if that also affects the 'rise' of AS. Maybe it's just more and more of the population is not built to tolerate the unnatural state we live in.

I too grew up in a smaller, calmer, more protected world. Even though I wasn't born 80 yrs ago... ;-) I might as well been, as the religious beliefs of my parents precluded all manner of ways of life, technology and what not. I grew up with books, animals, land, a small (tiny to most here) school. I went to school with the same kids from K-12. It was just much easier to develop coping mechanisms in that environment.

Jennie AS also opinionated